Rochdale resident says he was 'attacked' by police officer

The red mark left on Tony Diamond's face

Rochdale resident Tony Diamond has lodged a complaint with the police, after he says he was attacked by a local officer in his own home.

Mr Diamond had called the police and ambulance service for help after attempting to take his own life. Mr Diamond says that he slipped into a state of unconsciousness and the next thing he knows, he was woken by an officer, who had hit him in the face with a crutch.

Speaking to Rochdale Online, he said: “I know I have problems but I needed their help and I didn’t deserve what he did to me. I woke up and he had hit me with my crutch on the side of my face. I have Tourette’s so because of what he had done, I became a little verbally aggressive, but it wasn’t intentional.”

Mr Diamond claims that he was hit twice on the cheek, leaving his face red and sore.

“When the police left and the paramedic came in, I asked for her opinion on what could have caused the mark on my face and she agreed that something had hit me in the face,” he said.

Since the incident, Mr Diamond says he has become more paranoid and has had to install CCTV in his home.

He added: “I have put CCTV in my house when I shouldn’t have to. I have become a lot more paranoid since this happened. I didn’t deserve that to happen to me. It was even witnessed by another officer.”

A spokesperson for Greater Manchester Police said: “Greater Manchester Police has received a formal complaint about a police officer in Rochdale. We take complaints like this extremely seriously and this matter has now been referred to the GMP Professional Standards Branch who are undertaking an investigation.”